Youthful Years
by Lulu-Mot
Summary: Goes back to the years when Naruto first started ditching classes with Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba. How Sasuke endured school in the beginning. The lucky day when Sakura first met Sasuke. How was Neji before his father died? What if Kimmiamaro had a friend


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

_This story is about the the youthful years of Konoha's shinobis. Along with some other canon characters that I might add, such as Gaara and Kimmimaro. In the anime they gave quick recaps and flashbacks of Naruto and his friends when they were younger, but these chapters are going to go into what really happened. How did Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba start ditiching class together?, the first time Sasuke came into the academy, how Sakura first met Sasuke in one lucky situation, how did Neji act before his father died, a day in Shikamaru's care-free life. And others that I am currently thinking about.  
_

_Also if anyone wants to see a certain canon character when they were younger and a story behind them let me know. I am also going to do some 'what ifs'. Such as What if Gaara's uncle didn't die because he was killing Gaara but because he was saving Gaara? Or What if Kimmimaro had a friend when he was locked up in his cell during the time his clan was alive?_

Anyway that was just a breif summary of this story. Here's the first chapter about Naruto's life.

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**Chapter 1**

|Naruto|

It was cold.

"Keep walking" He said as he stepped carefully on the wet stone floor. Water was running down from the dimly lit hallway. It shone a warm light down the passage but at the end was complete darkness. Nothing could make the black pitch visible. Slowly he took his time walking. Gravity seemed to be pulling him closer towards the end of the narrow hall.

He brushed his fingers through his golden locks of hair. Cold sweat dripped from his chin as a deep husky breathing came rumbling down the hall. Every step brought him closer to his destiny, to what he tried to except himself as.

Staring down at his reflection from the water he saw it. Those red shot eyes, the pincer sharp fangs, that malicious smile smeared on. He tried blinking the image away but it just kept staring back at him. The reflection was taunting him, enjoying seeing the boy crumple down.

He brought a hand to his face and slowly with his fingertips touched the delicate features. It was he with the eyes of fury and the smile that scared off so many people.

The husky breathing stopped and let out a soft chuckle that exceedingly increased with every passing second. "You are invincible now! Crush the ones that torment you!"

The boy stared down at his reflection harder. Trying as hard as he could to erase the image he saw.

_I didn't want to become a monster. _

Suddenly he felt the ground begin to rumble. His body shook impulsively. His head bobbing back and forth and hands swaying by his side, "W-What's going on?"

"Naruto" The unfathomable voice boomed. Soon the floor began to move and his body began to retract and started to get pulled away along with the ground. The gravelly voice started to sound distant to the point where it sounded more familiar.

"Naruto!" The voice became more shrilly. The young boy slowly flickered his eyes to a low slant. The sun's rays beamed from the tree's branches and shone on the boy's face, giving his eyes a bright glow.

"Iruka-sensei, what's up?" Naruto said sitting up. He grinned from ear to ear at his academy instructor.

"Naruto, you have class now! What are you doing sleeping out here?" Iruka exclaimed. He brushed a leaf off of the boy's shoulder and placed a hand on his hip.

Naruto was always late to his classes and he never got away with it. He wasn't the smartest or most skillful student so he didn't deserve to slack off. Iruka would find Naruto eating at the ramen shop instead of doing his homework or practicing his jutsus, which infuriated him. Iruka saw a lot of potential in Naruto, and he was the only one who did. He tried as hard as he could to push the young boy to his best state.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Sorry Iruka-sensei. I just dozed off for a second. I'm not that late, am I?" He stood up and stared up at his sensei.

"You're twenty minutes late! If it wasn't for Kiba who told me you were out here you would've missed the whole day!" Iruka shouted hoping to get through the blonde haired boy. Naruto laughed nervously and then ran off in the direction of the school.

"Don't think you're getting off that easy, Naruto!" Iruka shouted, running behind the boy.

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It was lecture time. Iruka was making a speech about the characteristics of Genjutus. It was very detailed and intricate for Naruto's liking. He stared down at his blank page in his notebook and sighed. He hated taking notes for class, he felt like he couldn't keep up with the lecture that Iruka would always make.

Naruto looked to his side and saw Kiba fidgeting in his seat. Kiba Inuzuka was a member of Inuzuka Dog-User clan. He seems to be impulsive and short tempered, always snapping at Naruto. Kiba had messy brown hair, sharp black eyes, and distinct red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on his cheeks.

Kiba and Naruto on rare occasions got along. Kiba always saw Naruto as inferior to him and an annoyance. He felt that Naruto wasn't worth anyone's time in the academy. Akamaru, Kiba's puppy and partner, also shared an annoyance towards Naruto.

Kiba looked out the window towards the open field right outside the academy. He soon saw someone's reflection staring intently at him. He rustled in his seat and whipped his head around.

"What are you staring at?" Kiba barked at Naruto. Akamaru, who was nestled in Kiba's lap, lifted up his head and growled at the blonde haired boy.

Naruto furrowed his brows and then turned to face the front of the class, "I wasn't staring at you if that's what you're getting at" Naruto grumbled. Iruka stared around the classroom and saw Naruto staring at him, actually thinking he was paying attention.

"Naruto, why don't you come to the front of the class and demonstrate what I was talking about." Iruka stated proudly, assuming that his pupil was on the same page as he was.

Naruto stared dumbfounded at his teacher and got up from his chair. Iruka smiled optimistically and stepped to the side, giving the center for Naruto's performance.

"Um, Iruka-sensei, can you repeat the lecture?" Naruto said. He held his hands to his side and stared apologetically at his teacher.

"I thought you were paying attention!" Iruka shouted, upset that his assumptions were wrong.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled nervously, "I got side tracked"

"I can do it, sensei!"

Naruto turned his head and saw a delicate hand raised in the air. The voice noise was so sweet to his ears. He involuntarily formed a smile on his youthful face at the sound.

"Thank you, Sakura" Iruka sighed in relief. Thankful that at least one of his students had been paying attention.

Sakura Haruno was the brightest and most intellectual students at the academy. She lacked strength in her techniques but she took any task.

Naruto stared as the young girl stood up from her chair and started to walk down towards the front of the class. The girl had light pink hair that reached just above her shoulders and a red bow that tied her bangs back. She had very fair skin and a small frame.

Naruto started to feel heat rise in his cheeks as he continued to stare at the pink haired girl. "Sakura…" he whispered to himself.

Kiba turned to Naruto and saw his cheeks a bright pink and a childish smile smeared on his face. Kiba turned down to look at Akamaru who had registered Naruto's reaction as well. Then an evil grin appeared on Kiba's face.

"Say Naruto, did you hear a rumor about that girl Sakura?" Kiba whispered towards Naruto.

Naruto swiftly turned towards Kiba after hearing the words Sakura slur out of his mouth. "No. What?" he asked intriguingly.

"Supposedly she has a major crush on you!" Kiba winked at blonde haired boy. Naruto's face perked and his smile became more apparent and broad. Naruto turned his face back at the young girl who had finished presenting her jutsu to the front of the class.

As she started walking back up to her seat she glanced over at Naruto who was staring directly at her with a grin plastered on his face. He waved merrily at the young girl, his cheeks demonstrating a shade of pink.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and formed a pouting lip in confusion. She lifted her hand just above waist and waved lowly at the blonde haired boy. Naruto took her gesture blissfully and turned to Kiba in victory.

"You were right!" Naruto squealed.

Kiba smirked in satisfaction and petted Akamaru, who was panting happily at their successful prank.

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Iruka was explaining to the class the history of the Kekkei Genkai and all the details about it.

"Kekkei Genkai's are abilities passed down genetically in specific clans. The Kekkei genkai and their related jutsu can't be taught or copied by others, but it is possible to pass the ability to another person if it's localized in a particular organ like the eyes through organ transplant" Iruka began to explain.

Naruto was doodling in his notebook a picture of what looked like a tree and a swing. As usual he wasn't paying any attention to what was going on in class. Soon there was a knock on the door and a head popped in, asking to speak to Iruka in private.

As the classroom became unsupervised, everyone began talking and throwing paper balls across the room. Naruto continued drawing until he heard a crumpling noise. Naruto leaned forward and saw the boy directly in front of him open a bag of potatoes chips.

Naruto grinned and licked his lips, "Hey, do you think I can have some?" he asked, extending his arm towards the boy.

The young one with the bag of chips was a stout boy with light brown hair and bulgy pink cheeks. He had his whole hand dug into the potatoe chip bag when he heard Naruto's voice. He twisted around in his seat and saw Naruto's cheeky grin. The plump boy furrowed his brows and wanted to refuse sharing.

"Give him a couple, Choji" A young boy with jet black hair stated, as he laid in his head on his arms and stared drowsily at the boy next to him.

Naruto smiled contently at both boys and then inched his hand closer to the potatoe chip bag. "Hn, all right" Choji, the stout boy sighed. Naruto chuckled in success and dug his hand into the bag.

"No eating until lunch time, Naruto!" Iruka's voice exclaimed as he stood in front of the class, arms crossed in disapproval. Naruto sighed and retracted his arm from the bag, with no chip.

"Put those away, Choji" Iruka instructed the plump boy with scolding eyes. Choji sighed unhappily and tucked the potatoe chip bag under his desk.

Naruto wrapped his arms around his stomach as it started to rumble in hunger. "Aw man, I knew I should've eaten something before I left home" he groaned as he dropped his head to his desk.

"You better not be sleeping, Naruto!"

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It was dark again. The only noise was the sound of his light breathing. He stared down at his feet as he watched his chest move up and down and soon began to pick up pace. He tried to control it as he slowly raised his head.

There were metal bars extending from the endless ceiling to the ground where he stepped on. More darkness was within the barred cell. There was suddenly something else breathing, coming from the chamber. He held his breath and tried to concentrate on the other.

"Have you come to seek more power?" A deep ominous voice murmured.

The boy took a step backwards, unsure where the voice was coming from. He took a wistful assumption that inside the obscurity of the chamber was something powerful and colossal. He gulped and watched with frightful eyes as a shadow began to stir in the darkness.

"Wh-Who are you?" The boy's petrified voice stuttered.

"Look into the water and see the reflection. Then you will know who I am" The portentous voice echoed.

The boy slowly bent his head to the ground where the low water was below his feet. He shut his eyes before revealing to himself what the voice was talking about. He flashed his eyes open and stared silently at the figure in the water. With trembling eyes he analyzed every feature. To the angry bloodshot eyes, to the engraved blackened whiskers, to the fangs perturbing from the lips.

He was staring at his own reflection.

"No!" The boy shouted at the reflection. He clutched his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes tight to escape the image. "This can't be…" he whispered in a shaky voice, frightened.

He burst his eyes open once more, "NO!"

Suddenly the scenario had changed and he was back in the classroom at the academy. Naruto was standing up, his seat knocked down behind him. Drool was streaming down his chin and his piercing blue eyes scanned the surrounding in awe.

"What the—" Naruto exclaimed in confusion. He noticed someone beside him who had their arm extended to touch him, but was frozen in mid air. It was the boy with the jet black hair.

"I was going to wake you up" The boy blinked, astonished by Naruto's scene. "It's recess"

Naruto furrowed his brows and stared attentively at the young boy. Soon he relaxed his expression and nodded, "Oh okay"

The boy with the black hair stuck his hands in his pockets and walked up the steps to leave the classroom. "Wait up, Shikamaru!" The boy, Choji, shouted as he raced passed Naruto to reach his friend.

Naruto examined the classroom. It was now empty except for two or three students who were lagging behind. He turned his head to the side and saw that Kiba and Akamaru had already gone outside. He then eagerly turned to look to the table across from his and saw that Sakura had left as well. Naruto sighed and dragged his feet up the stairs and out of the tedious classroom.

The backyard of the academy was large and was divided into sections. The recess area was only a couple of meters but was large enough for the whole class to roam around. Trees swayed to the side as a gust of wind blew by. Naruto shut his eyes and inhaled a fresh breath of air.

"Stop staring at my skirt, you pig!" A girl screeched.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw a young girl with short blonde hair, her fist in the air, about to punch Choji on the head. Naruto smiled at the commotion but suddenly his eyes fixated on something else.

"Sakura…"

The young pink haired girl was standing beside the blonde haired student about to pummel Choji. Naruto ran towards the scene and stood just behind Choji and his friend.

"Calm down, Ino" The boy with the black haired sighed.

"Tell your friend to stop being such a perv!" The blonde haired girl shouted. Sakura smiled nervously at the girl, Ino, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"The wind blew by. It wasn't his fault that your skirt flew up for everyone to see" The boy retorted coolly.

Ino growled at the boy, "Shikamaru! Don't cover up for him! He hasn't stopped looking since the wind passed!"

"This is a drag" the black haired boy sighed, "C'mon Choji, let's just leave her alone" Choji nodded and walked away with his friend.

"Don't worry, Ino" Sakura smiled at the blonde haired girl, "Maybe you should wear pants tomorrow" she giggled.

Naruto felt the heat rise to his cheeks once again. The sound of Sakura's voice already made him giddy but hearing the girl laugh just made him fall even more for her.

Sakura then noticed Naruto staring at her and she blinked curiously at him. Naruto hadn't realized that he was standing right in front of the two girls, staring dazed at the pink haired girl.

"Um…" Sakura hummed.

"Hm?" Ino followed Sakura's stare and saw Naruto staring, mouth slightly ajar, at her friend. "Hey what are you doing staring at her like that? Do you want to freak her out or something?" Ino exclaimed loudly.

Naruto soon snapped out of his trance and stared irately at the blonde haired girl. "What's the matter with you?" he grumbled.

"Get lost!" Ino shouted and then clung onto Sakura and pulled her away. Sakura turned her head to stare at the golden haired boy from behind her shoulder, who was staring back at her. She swiftly turned around and walked along with Ino.

Naruto sighed and sulked his shoulders a bit. "Hm?" He turned from side to side to see half of his classmates gawking at him awkwardly. He furrowed his eyebrows and stomped away from their stares.

"Girl's are such a drag"

Naruto heard a voice exclaim. He stopped walking and saw the boy and his friend sitting on a bench. Naruto didn't know if they were talking directly to him so he walked over to them.

The boys stared as Naruto stood right in front of them, a small smile on his face. The black haired boy raised an eyebrow and folded his hands and placed them behind his head.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara" The black haired boy stated. "And this here is Choji Akimichi"

Naruto had already known Choji from previous days at the academy. But Shikamaru was a fresh face to him. Shikamaru was the total opposite of Choji, with black hair that was tied into a spiked ponytail and a thinner frame. His voice was more unenthusiastic at basically anything he said and yet he had a cool and laid back demeanor to himself.

Naruto's smile widened, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki" he pointed his thumb at himself and grinned at the boys.

"Watch out!"

Naruto slowly turned his head and suddenly got smacked in the face with a rubber ball. Naruto fell backwards from the impact and lay on the ground, twitching his body. He soon sat up hurriedly and rubbed his face where the ball had hit.

Soon he saw Kiba trotting towards him. Naruto glared at Kiba but was suddenly pounced on by a small white creature that was snatching the ball from his lap.

Naruto shouted at the blur of white fur and then noticed it was Akamaru. "What was that for, Kiba?!" Naruto growled and stood up hastily.

"I thought Akamaru was going to catch it but he missed" Kiba shrugged and then crouched down to pet his dog. "It doesn't matter. It's not like I hit anything important"

"Why you—" Naruto growled and took a step forward.

"Okay everyone! Recess is over!" Iruka's voice called out from the door.

Naruto didn't take his glance away from Kiba. He clutched his fists in anger and didn't move an inch. He then felt a strange sensation coming from his stomach. He soon remembered his dream and shook the images of the reflection he witnessed.

"C'mon Akamaru, let's not waste our time with this loser" Kiba smirked and walked away, Akamaru following close behind him.

"Kiba…" Naruto growled to himself, staring at the brown haired boy.

"C'mon you don't want to be late again, do you?" Shikamaru stated in a low tired voice. Naruto turned his attention from Kiba and nodded at Shikmaru. Both boys silently walked beside each other as they entered the academy.

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After enduring two more hours of lectures, demonstrations, and questions, lunch time finally came around. Naruto grabbed a brown paper bag from under his desk and walked in a straight line along with the rest of his classmates back outside to the lunch area.

Naruto smiled happily as he walked outside back into the fresh sunny air. He looked around trying to find a pleasant place to eat lunch. Usually he sat under a tree by himself peacefully and took a short nap until lunch time was up.

As he looked around he couldn't find any available trees in sight. He sighed and found a bench nearby and sat down. He looked around and saw groups of boys and girls sitting with each other on lunch tables, laughing and talking about. He wished he could join them but for now he disregarded it.

He placed his brown paper bag on the bench in front of him and looked inside. He found the apple and milk pint that he had stuck in there this morning. He took both items out and placed them delicately in front of him. He smiled and clapped his hands, ready to eat.

"That's him" a low voice exclaimed.

"Hm?" Naruto slowly turned his head and saw a group of kids whispering to one another, glancing once in awhile at Naruto.

"He's the one with the—" One boy said to his table of friends.

"Shh! We're not supposed to talk about it remember!" A girl cut him off.

Naruto stared at the table and then slowly dropped his head. A strange feeling was hitting the pit of his stomach and he soon lost his appetite. He turned back to his lunch and placed it back into the paper bag.

"I heard he's dangerous"

"Yeah, he doesn't have anyone"

"I'm surprised he was even allowed in this school"

Naruto heard different voices speak. He didn't bother to look up and see their faces, knowing that he would receive nasty looks from his classmates. Naruto let out a soft sigh and felt his face get warm. The prickle of heat burned her eyes until he felt his eyes become watery.

"Hey"

Naruto blinked his eyes tight to get read of its glossiness and turned his head to look up at the voice.

It was Shikamaru, with Choji right beside him. "Do you mind if we sit with you?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto blinked once more and then smiled widely at the two boys.

"Sure!" He exclaimed happily.

Shikamaru smiled and sat on the bench beside Naruto while Choji sat on the grass and began ripping his lunch bag open. Naruto watched Choji gobble down his food in amazement.

"Hey Naruto…" Shikamaru said in a low voice.

Naruto turned to the boy beside him, "What's up?"

"Don't listen to what everyone says. It can be troublesome but it's easier to just ignore them" he said, and then let out a small smile before opening his lunch bag as well.

Naruto stared blankly at Shikamaru for a couple of seconds. Soon he began feeling his eyes tingle again, but this time it wasn't because he was upset.

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**Please Read and Review.**

_I want to know what you guys think so I know whether to continue with the chapters or not. The next chapter will be Sasuke's background on some things and his first day at the academy. How will everyone react seeing Itachi, the academy's best student's younger brother, attend their class?_ _No flames please_ :)


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